The Woods
by Loyal as a Book
Summary: When 13 year old Trafalgar Law got caught by the marines after just escaping Doflamingo's grasp, he didn't expect to get dropped off with a group of bandits in East Blue. He also didn't expect the trio of savage children that lived in the woods. No matter, they were of no interest to him. But if only the excessive nose-picker would stop following him around.
1. In Which There is a Polar Bear

_So this is my first attempt at One Piece. I haven't finished all the episodes but I did skip ahead for everything Law. Just because. This came out of the recent manga chapters that focused on his past. There's no real spoilers. If you notice anything amiss or wrong, please let me know. I do not claim to know everything about One Piece._

_Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei._

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

**In Which There is a Polar Bear**

On the island of Goa in a remote corner of the East Blue sea, was a small town called Fuusha. It was a tiny little town with a couple stores and only one pub, but it was cozy and comfortable. When asked, most people mistook the name for Fucha City in South Blue. It was off most maps and comfortably under the radar. Which was why it was the perfect place to hide the children of some of the world's most wanted criminals.

Over a decade earlier, Lieutenant-General Monkey D. Garp left the son of the Pirate King with a group of bandits just outside of Fuusha. Portgas D. Ace would have his eleventh birthday in two months. Although he hated even thinking of his birthday he would reluctantly celebrate with his little brother Luffy and his slightly older brother Sabo.

What he didn't know was that his adopted grandfather would bring him the worst early birthday present ever.

They fought a giant python this time. It was so long that it could wrap around a house twice and had fangs as tall as a teenaged boy. Unfortunately for the poor python, it was facing three violent almost pre-teen boys in a fight to the death, and it lost terribly.

"Ha-Ha! We did it!" The smallest of the boys cheered loudly, leaping into the air with a fist pump. His straw hat was too big for his head but he wore it anyways, letting it slip down his forehead and muss up his black hair. A huge smile stretched across his face at their accomplishment.

"Why are you so happy, Luffy? You left all the work to Sabo and me," the other dark haired boy growled. Although he had a similar complexion and hair colour to the younger Luffy, they didn't look all that alike. Where Luffy's hair was thin and straight, Ace's was thick and wavy. Luffy had a small scar below his left eye but Ace had freckles across his nose and cheeks. Luffy's eyes were wide and a warm dark brown, Ace's eyes were narrow and a cool grey colour.

"But I really tried hard this time!" Luffy whined.

"You almost got it in the head with your punch," the last boy, Sabo, tried to make peace. "I think you're improving a lot." Sabo looked nothing like the other two boys. His skin was a warmer tone, his eyes a dark blue and his blonde hair was cut short and close to his head.

Regardless of their different looks, all three boys were brothers. They were not born to the same parents but they considered themselves brothers in all but blood. As the oldest, Ace and Sabo often found themselves looking after their dopey little brother and making sure he didn't get in too much trouble. But most of the time, that was impossible. Trouble followed Luffy like a parasite.

"You're always too nice to him, Sabo," Ace grumbled. Slightly annoyed at how Luffy jumped excitedly around the blonde brother.

Luffy stopped to stick his tongue out at Ace. "Sabo's the best big brother. Ace sucks!"

"What?! I shared some of my food with you last night!"

"You did? I didn't notice."

"Why you …!" Sabo laughed when Ace smacked Luffy in the head. Sometimes his brothers could be so funny.

The late afternoon sounds of the forest were shattered by an earth-splitting scream. It was a scream of pure emotional pain that echoed throughout the forest, disturbing a flock of birds from their perch in the trees.

"What was that?" Ace yelled. Worried because the scream sounded so familiar.

"I think it was coming from the bandit camp," Sabo replied, and they all exchanged anxious looks.

They left the dead python behind and jumped back into the woods. Branches whipped at their faces and tore at their dirty clothes but all three boys ignored the stinging pain. As they ran closer to the camp, raised voices could be heard. One of them was extremely recognizable to two of the brothers.

"Is that Gramps?" Luffy asked Ace, slightly out of breath. Their training in the woods was improving his stamina bit by bit and he could finally keep up with the older boys.

"Sounds like it, but why is he here?"

"Ace, isn't your birthday coming up soon?" Sabo called back. "Maybe he came for that?"

"The old man doesn't care about that," Ace scowled fiercely. He hated being reminded of his birthday. "But why is Dadan yelling?"

When they burst from the woods, the three boys came across a curious sight. Curly Dadan, the bandit leader and foster mother to the three boys was in tears on the ground. Her screams had dissolved into wails that the boys heard every now and then when they made too much of a mess. The other bandits were in shock around her, staring at the man in front of them.

Lieutenant-General Garp stood high above them with his thick arms crossed over his chest in the no-nonsense stance that Luffy knew so well. A large and very old crescent shaped scar circled his left eye. He seemed to have greyed a little more from the last time he visited.

"Oi! Gramps!" Luffy waved from the edge of the clearing. Ace smacked him in the back of the head but the damage had been done.

"What did you say?" Garp yelled, his deep voice rumbled over the clearing. "Such a disrespectful grandson I have! Looks like you need more lessons to turn you into a respectable marine."

"But I don't – " The rest of Luffy's words were smothered by Sabo and Ace's hands clamping tightly over his mouth.

"Hmm?" Garp raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what Luffy was going to say but he would ignore it. Only this one time since he had much more important things to deal with. Regardless, no grandson of his would ever become a pirate. "Come over here boys."

They hesitantly joined the group in front of the bandit log house and ignored the sniffling Dadan. For such a large and tough looking woman, she could sure be sensitive.

"Boys, I want to introduce you to someone," he looked down to his side and the boys followed his gaze, finally noticing two small figures that they hadn't seen before standing in Garp's shadow.

One was a small boy with a large, furry white and grey-spotted hat. Although he had a large black coat on, anyone could see how small and skinny he was. Dark bruises under his eyes made his eyes look much brighter and strange white patches were spread across his visible skin, giving him a sickly look. His gaze was cold, his eyes looked dead as if he had lost all interest in the present.

Beside him was a small white polar bear cub. The boys stared.

"This is Trafalgar Law. He will be living here with you from now on." Garp went to pat the sickly-looking boy's head but he ducked out of the way without looking up and Garp's hand swung through thin air.

"And the bear. What about the bear?" Luffy asked. His eyes fixated on the polar bear which blinked back at him before slowly lowering its head. The light was playing tricks on them because the bear almost looked like it was blushing. But bears don't blush or get embarrassed.

"It's Law's bear. Don't try and eat it, you brat." Garp grabbed Luffy and picked him up so they could look in the eye. "I don't want you three to speak a word of Law's presence here, understand? He has some very dangerous enemies."

Ace scowled and glared at the new boy. This boy was apparently going to be even more trouble than Luffy. Law ignored him and continued to stare blankly ahead, unaffected by the idea of his dangerous enemies.

Garp dropped Luffy to the ground, ignoring his protest. "I'll be off then. I have to get back to my ship. And Dadan?" The woman's big fat crocodile tears long enough to hear Garp's next words, "Don't let Law have any knives or sharp objects. I had to put my crew back together twice after he got into the kitchen."

Dadan started crying for real again. Ace and Sabo exchanged dark looks and eyed the new boy wearily. Something wasn't right about him. In fact, something about him was downright creepy. Perhaps it was his complete silence in response to all the commotion going on around them or the way he stared right through them. There was something off about that boy and Ace wanted nothing to do with him. Judging by Sabo's expression, the blonde felt as uneasy as he did.

Apparently Luffy didn't agree.

"Hi!" Luffy chirped, his invasion of the boy's personal space made everyone but Garp uneasy. "I'm Luffy! Your name is Tra- … Trao- … Law, right?" The boy's eyes narrowed at the casual use of his personal name by a complete stranger but he didn't respond. "Are you my new brother?"

"WHAT?!" Ace and Sabo were perfectly in unison expressing their disbelief at the stupidity of Luffy's question. In no way did they want to have any contact with the creepy new kid.

The boy blinked and gave the younger boy a look that clearly stated what he thought of Luffy's intelligence, or lack thereof. "No," he deadpanned.

"Oh, then you will be soon." Luffy ignored the boy's decidedly deadly look and looked at the polar bear cub sitting behind Law. "What's with the bear?"

"He's mine. Don't talk to him." The words were meant to be threatening, but Law said it in such a deadpanned tone that no one could figure out how serious he was. To clear the air about his intentions Law continued in the same monotone voice: "Try to eat him and I'll gouge out your eyeballs with a spoon."

Everyone but Luffy and Garp felt a shiver go down their spine. Sabo's face turned two shades paler and he shuffled closer to Ace. Leaning over he whispered "I think we might have to be careful around him. I think he might just try and slit our throats while we sleep." Ace could only nod in response.

Luffy either didn't hear Law or didn't understand the threat. "What's his name? Where did you get him? What can he do?"

Law stared at the chatty dark haired boy and wondered if something was wrong with the boy's head. Maybe he could practice his gathered knowledge on brain surgery to see exactly which part of the boy's brain had stopped functioning. "Bepo. North Blue. Many things. Now go away."

"North Blue? Cool! Is it cold there?" Ace wanted to join Dadan in tears at the stupidity of his little brother.

"Ha ha! Looks like you boys will be getting along well," Garp ignored the dirty looks everyone but Luffy and Bepo the polar bear shot him. "I'm going now. See you boys!"

And then the mountain bandits and three boys dreaming of being pirates were left with the creepiest boy from North Blue and his pet polar bear.

The clearing was silent for several minutes after Garp left. The mountain bandits and the boys stared at the new arrivals, not sure what exactly to do with them. Ace and Sabo had no desire to approach the creepy kid and Luffy was far more interested in finding the runaway booger in his nose than helping out with the awkward situation. Law himself was rather fascinated with how far the shortest child had managed to stick his finger up his nose. He was subconsciously re-evaluating the physical limitations of booger picking.

Finally, one of the mountain bandits named Dogra stepped forward. A beige turban had slipped slightly off his head and his hold on the dictionary in his hand was shaky at best. "R-right, Law-kun. You – You'll be staying with the b-boys. Can you boys show him your room?"

Ace and Sabo just glared at him, not moving. They didn't live in the log house anymore so it wasn't their business. Apparently Luffy didn't get the memo.

"Sure!" Luffy chirped and ran towards the log house. "Come on, Law!"

Law picked up the old and worn black backpack at his feet and trailed behind the perky boy. The polar bear shuffled in behind him. One of the other bandits was brave enough to ask the bear to stay outside but that was the extent of his courage. He quickly backed off at Trafalgar Law's dark glare and the bear ambled comfortably into the log house.

"Are we really going to leave Luffy alone with that kid?" Sabo raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"No," Ace grumbled. The two barged inside the building and up to the rafters. Luckily Luffy was still alive and in one piece, chattering away about sleeping arrangements. The bear was sniffing the floor and testing the rotting wood under his weight.

"Sabo sleeps there, Ace sleeps next to him, and I sleep next to Ace. You can sleep next to me, okay? And sometimes we get a bath, but we all have to go at once because there's not much hot water. And we have to hunt for food because the bandits don't have much money. But that's okay because it's good training and Dadan cooks what we bring back. Have you ever hunted before? I want the animals to be my pets but if they become meat then I'm happy!"

Law was staring at Luffy like the boy was a puzzle just waiting to be solved. "Were you dropped on your head as a child?"

"I don't know," Luffy shrugged, still with a giant smile. "But Gramps hits me a lot. He says it will make me a good marine. But I don't want to be a marine."

Luffy paused and seemed to be waiting. Ace shook his head in exasperation, he knew exactly what Luffy wanted Law to do.

Apparently Law got the message, and in a tone of voice appropriate for an exasperated adult humoring a child, asked "What do you want to be?"

"A pirate!" Luffy cheered. "I'm gonna be a great pirate like Shanks!"

Law chuckled, and it wasn't a pleasant tone. The darkness in his laugh made the hairs on Sabo's arms stand up on end.

"A pirate, huh?" Law's smirk had years of knowledge twisted into it. There was a cruel twist to his lips and his eyes were shadowed by his hat. If they could see his eyes all three boys would be terrified by the unpleasant look he had.

"Yeah! Just like Shanks!" Luffy's non-stop babbling about Shanks the pirate got old very quickly but Ace and Sabo hadn't heard him talk about the man in a while.

"You mean Red-Haired Shanks? You know him?" It finally seemed as if Luffy had something of worth to tell the creepy new boy.

"He gave me this hat," Luffy patted the worn and frayed straw hat on his head. "I promised to give it back to him when I become a great pirate."

"He's one of the strongest rising pirates in the world, they say he could be on par with Whitebeard." Law was amused by the boy's ambitions. "It would take a lot to impress him."

"I know, but I'm not giving up!" Luffy smiled brightly.

Law blinked at the smile that stretched from ear to ear. He seemed almost surprised about something. Ace nudged Sabo and they both nodded at each other in understanding.

"Uh, Law-kun. How about we let you get settled. Come on Luffy, let's go," Sabo tugged on Luffy's rubbery arm.

"But I wanna play with Law and Bepo!" Luffy whined, eying the fluffy white bear he had yet to pet. It stared at him suspiciously. Bepo knew exactly what the boy was thinking.

"They must be tired from travelling with Garp-san. Just let them rest today." Ace joined Sabo and together they pulled their stubborn little brother from the log house.

They darted past the bandits outside, still dragging Luffy behind him. "Good luck!" they called back and disappeared into the forest.

They didn't stop running until they reached the tree house. Luffy whined and protested the entire way, complaining about leaving behind his new friend. Ace and Sabo sat him down in the middle of the house and glared at him with their arms crossed.

"What?"

"Are you an idiot, Luffy?" Ace started, his temper getting the better of him. "In case you didn't notice, that kid is dangerous! You need to stay away from him!"

"Not true! He's a good person! He has a pet bear!" Luffy yelled back, his hands clenched into fists on his knees. He and Law were going to be friends and he didn't like anyone saying bad things about his future friend.

"I don't see what the bear has to do with this," Sabo murmured in thought. He shrugged, "Ace is right. Something about the boy isn't right."

"Why don't you like him? He didn't do anything to you?"

"He gives us the creeps!" Ace snapped. He always let his temper take over whenever Luffy didn't listen. "It's the way he talks, he's not right in the head."

Luffy's brow furrowed in anger, "You're just jealous of him."

"Jealous?" Ace laughed. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because he has a polar bear and you don't!"

Ace and Luffy stared at each other in silence. Snapping out of his confusion, Ace asked "Again, I don't see what the bear has to do with this."

"No, Ace," Sabo interrupted the quarrel. "Luffy has a point."

"What is it about the bear that has everyone going crazy?"

"It's not the bear," Sabo shook his head, smiling slightly. "I think you and I might be over reacting. We could be just a little jealous."

"I'm not jealous of the bear!"

"No, I mean of having another kid here," Sabo rested a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Garp did say he has some enemies. I don't think he had an easy life. Maybe we should try to be nicer to him?"

"How about you try and tell me how it goes," Ace snapped and stalked to the other end of the tree house. "I'm not going near him."

Sabo and Luffy both sighed and shook their heads at Ace's stubbornness.

"I don't care what you say, Ace," Luffy poked Ace in the chest and glared back at him. "I just know Law and I will be friends."

"How do you know that?" Sabo asked. He was always amused by how Luffy could so quickly and easily make up his mind about someone he just met.

"I don't know. I just know he's a good person. And he has a bear."

Ace promptly gave up all hope about talking sense into his little brother.

"Just shut up about the damn bear!"

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><p><em>Bepo is love.<em>

_Please, if you'd be so kind as to leave a review, I would greatly appreciate it. Tell me what you think and if I can improve on anything._

_Thank you for reading!_


	2. In Which There is a Bath

_Wow! I didn't expect so much interest in only the first chapter. It was a big surprise to me! Thank you to everyone who reviewed: Missy anon, Son of Whitebeard, Ire, Emango23, LilPrincess95, Luffy's sister, Mrs. E, starstorm 10, platinumheart021, TamaraAriel, IdiotHeiren, Yagura, Frenda-sama,and Nightrose1._

_Also thanks to everyone who put this story on their alerts or favourites._

_Once again, if you notice something that needs to be changed please let me know!_

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

**In Which There is a Bath**

The sun had set long ago when they finally returned to the mountain bandit's log house. Ace was against returning at all but Luffy refused to stay in the treehouse all night while his soon to be friend slept alone with the bandits. The windows were dark and the house was silent.

"Were going in quietly, okay Luffy? It's a game. How long can you keep your mouth shut?" Sabo whispered, mimicking zipping his lips shut.

"Okay! Got it!" Luffy whispered loudly back. Ace slapped his forehead.

They crept in past the snoring bandits and up the ladder to the loft. The patched over hole where Luffy had fallen through months ago still groaned dangerously whenever someone stepped on it. In the dim lighting from the moon, the floor of the room looked empty. A white mass of fur glowed in the far corner of the room but there was no sign of Trafalgar Law.

"Where's Law?" Luffy whispered loudly, completely forgetting about the silence game he was supposed to be playing. He shuffled around on the floor in the dark, searching for a human body. "Law! Where are you?"

"Just leave it, Luffy. You can look in the morning," Ace muttered. He crawled onto his futon and pulled the ratty blanket over his head. "Good riddance. Now I can sleep in peace without that creep around."

"But he's not on his futon. Where is he?" Luffy whined.

"I'm sure he's fine," Sabo yawned and pushed Luffy towards his futon. "Now go to sleep."

Luffy pouted and moaned, "But what if he left?"

"Would you shut up?" A voice drawled from the far corner where Bepo the polar bear was curled up. "Some of us were sleeping."

Ace jump out of his bed in complete surprise, his lanky limbs tripping over his blanket. Sabo and Luffy were equally shocked, but Luffy's shock was more on the pleased side. Using Bepo as a pillow, Law was snuggled up in a warm fuzzy blanket that looked much more comfortable than any blanket Luffy or Ace ever had. His white spotted hat was off but the boys couldn't see much else in the dark. Bepo's dark eyes stood out amongst his white fur, watching them with a startling amount of intelligence.

"Law! You're still here!" Luffy cheered before Sabo slapped a hand over his mouth. A bandit grunted loudly downstairs.

"Obviously," Law drawled. He turned over to face away from them. "Now let me sleep."

"Eww! Gross!" Sabo snatched his hand away from Luffy and wiped his palm on his shorts, smearing saliva everywhere. He glared at Luffy who ignored him and put his tongue back in his mouth.

"Kay! Night Law!" Luffy chirped and he bounced under his blanket.

Ace and Sabo exchanged weary looks, neither one was particularly comfortable about sleeping in the same room as the new kid. But Luffy wasn't going to move and the boys wouldn't leave him behind. So they lay down under their blankets promising themselves not to sleep and leave themselves vulnerable. They would ignore the softness of the futon beneath their bodies and the warmth from the blankets that melted right into their bones. They would be strong, manly guardians over their overly-trusting little brother.

They promptly passed right out.

Law rolled over and stared at the three snoring boys, all lined up in a row on their worn futons. He was going to have a hard time sleeping from the racket they were making. He buried a hand in Bepo's soft fur and listened to his rumbling breaths, grateful for his friend's presence.

"They're like a family," he murmured quietly. A low whine sounded from Bepo's throat and Law rubbed him behind the ears. "But we don't need to lose another one, right Bepo? All I need is you." Bepo leaned into his friend's touch.

A loud snore from Sabo made him jump. "I'm not going to get much more sleep tonight," Law sighed. But in a few hours he would eventually pass out from his body's exhaustion and the comfort of his only living friend under his head.

When morning dawned, Law watched dispassionately as the older two boys, Ace and Sabo, dragged the overly-friendly Luffy into the forest. Law had pretended to be sleeping as the other three boys moved around to leave, his eyes opened to a slit so he could watch their movements. The youngest had come within inches of touching him but had been pulled back by the blonde one. He had no interest to interact with any of them.

As the boys disappeared into the forest, Law turned around to face the shortest bandit. If he remembered correctly, the man was named Dogra.

"Tell me about the forest," Law kept his voice monotone and his facial expression perfectly flat. From his time with the Doflamingo pirates, he had discovered how terrifying maintaining a constant facial expression could be. It kept people on their toes completely unable to read a person until it was too late. He would practice and test his hypothesis on these bandits.

"Uh … Well, i-it's the Mt. Corvo fo-forest. Th-there's all sorts of d-dangerous animals," Dogra managed to stutter out. Apparently testing his hypothesis meant that it would be difficult to gather information from terrified sources. Perhaps he should tone down the creepiness.

"I understand," Law tilted his head up a bit so his eyes could be seen. He tried to make his face seem less threatening. Apparently it didn't work, the man was still quaking in his boots. Cowards. "Is there a town or village nearby?"

"Y-you might be a-able to get to G-Grey Terminal in a day. It's to the n-north. Ju-just beyond is Goa Kingdom. Fu-Fuusha Village is further to-to the south."

"Thank you," Law nodded. He considered trying to smile but decided against torturing himself like that. The memories were just too painful. "You have been helpful."

Dogra slid down to the floor when the boy turned away and shuffled backwards. Law turned to his friend who was sitting patiently by the door. "Let's go, Bepo."

Unlike the other three boys who were yelled at about chores until they disappeared into the woods, no one said a word to Law. He didn't mind. Having the bandits quiet was enough. He knew what would happen if they tried to give him orders. It wouldn't turn out pretty, for them.

They leisurely strolled west for couple hours until they came upon a stream. The water was slow moving and calm but Bepo's head lifted up and he sniffed the air. He eyed further upstream and Law followed his gaze to the large brown masses that looked like rocks in the water.

"Crocodiles? Good thing I came prepared." In his hand Law twirled the knife he had pickpocketed off a bandit before they left. Just this one little knife should be enough. When he grows taller, he would like to get a longer sword, like a nodachi or something similar with a good reach.

Bepo turned towards him and stared with his big, black, sorrowful eyes. "Fish," he said.

Now, most people would be shocked to hear a bear speak. And at first, Law was a little surprised. But he had lived with the unusual and freaky Doflamingo pirates for almost three years so very few things could surprise him anymore. Bepo struggled to say more than a few words but the ones he used were the most important.

"Of course," Law smiled just a little. He pulled some wire and hooks out from his pocket and made two fishing rods out of broken branches. Bepo dug up some worms and the two grilled up a lunch of fresh caught fish. Although the fish were decent, they were nothing like the delicious fish from the pure and clear water of North Blue. Bepo seemed to agree if Law judged correctly from his lack of enthusiasm over his second favourite meal.

"Not much we can do about that for now," Law shrugged and stood up. He packed away the extra fish and tied it to his makeshift fishing rod with a large piece of cloth he had stolen from the marines. "We'll have a feast when we get back to North Blue. No more of this fatty red meat and bread they eat around here. And we'll get you a seal, that's your favourite, right?"

Bepo nodded, "Yes. Captain."

Law turned away and smiled. For some time Bepo had started calling Law captain. He hadn't told Bepo of his desire to captain his own pirate ship and find One Piece but somehow his friend seemed to know. Perhaps it was the way Law refused to take orders or the way he felt most at home sailing on the seas. Although he was a polar bear, Bepo wasn't stupid. Law didn't have patience for idiots so he wouldn't hang around one all the time. But after several months together, he had found his first true friend in Bepo at a time when he never thought he would be able to love again. Law knew everything about Bepo and Bepo knew everything that mattered about Law. It was a friendship to last decades and they would be pirate captain and first mate.

Only if they managed to escape this stupid island.

"We'll keep going along the river for a while more before heading back. I want to know the area better before setting off for Goa Kingdom. I'd rather not get stuck in this forest at night."

Bepo grunted his agreement and they followed the river for another hour. They passed by a wolf pack and a large bear but none of the animals seemed too interested in hunting them. A bridge appeared in the distance. It was a rickety old thing made up of rope and rotting wooden boards with a well-worn path leading to the other side. The bridge faced north-south so Law wondered if it was used by anyone other than the bandits to cross the river.

Looking up, Law analyzed the position of the sun. "If my suspicions are correct, this bridge will help us get to Goa Kingdom. However, I'm unsure of the distance from here to the city. Let's look for a shorter route from the bandit's cabin to the bridge and we'll take that tomorrow."

Bepo nodded in agreement and sniffed the air. He began to lead Law back to the bandit's cabin in the shortest but safest route he could find. Although Law was decent with navigation, Bepo was the best at finding things within about 30 kilometers. After all, he had a bear's nose, not a weak human nose. His navigation skills were superior to Law's own. For once, Law didn't mind relying on someone else's abilities because he knew Bepo would never lead him wrong.

The bandits glowered at the duo when they walked in the door but said nothing. Rice was already cooking in the pot over the fire pit meaning dinner would be starting soon. Law spread out their stash of vegetable and fruits Bepo managed to sniff out and went to work on preparing them. Some of the bandits gave him a revolted look as he sat down to wash and cut up the fruits and vegetables but stayed far enough away. Apparently they had forgotten that moron Garp's warning about Law and sharp objects. Not his problem.

"Meat!"

The front door opened with a bang and a deer carcass flew through the air, smacking the large, orange haired bandit woman in the face. Three exceptionally dirty and smelly boys trooped in demanding cooked meat promptly.

Within an hour, the deer was cooked. The boys and bandits drooled over the red meat that was piled high in the middle room before launching at it like the animals they supposedly evolved from. As meat and spit started flying, Law turned away in disgust and sat in a far corner with Bepo. They each had a bowl of rice with grilled fish and the prepared fruits and vegetables. It was a dinner fit for a person and a bear that cared for what they put in their bodies.

"Ace! Leggo that was mine!"

"It's mine now, dumbass!"

"Don't touch my meat!"

"THIEF!"

"Amusing isn't it, Bepo?" Law smirked. He looked his friend straight in those deep black eyes that seemed endless. "They worried over you being a wild and vicious animal, but in reality it was them who have yet to complete their evolutionary cycle. You are a far more intelligent being."

Bepo's head tilted to the side and he stared questioningly at his friend. "Law?"

Knowing exactly what he was confused about, Law smiled. "It was a compliment to you."

His furry white head bowed and a pink tinge appeared over his nose. "Thank you."

The ruckus had died down across the room as the meat had quickly evaporated. Meat and rice was splattered everywhere. It was on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Honestly, it was amazing how messily just a few people could eat. Law and Bepo finished their dinner and began to clean up their mess. The bandit Dadan was yelling at the boys to go take a bath as the bandits began to clean the room. They ran off to the bathroom, tripping and sliding over each other.

The woman turned to face the two quiet ones in the corner. They stared back at her with identical dispassionate looks. "You too, kid. And your pet needs a bath."

Law's disinterested face immediately morphed into a glare and the temperature of the room dropped three degrees. "Don't give me orders."

Her face paled and her knees shook. Honestly, the woman was a fright to look at. Mostly because of the cancer stick she always had in her mouth. "Please?" She whispered.

"Very well," Law had no desire to be in the same room as those rambunctious boys but he didn't want to make a scene. Not yet, anyways.

They trudged into the bathroom. It was already foggy from the steam of the hot water. Ace and Sabo were splashing each other in the small tin tub. Luffy sat naked on a stool next to the tub scrubbing himself with soap. Their clothes were messily piled up in a dry corner of the room next to some towels. A straw hat sat on top.

They all stopped when Law and Bepo walked in. Ace gave him a fierce glare and Sabo sunk down into the water as if trying to hide by drowning himself. Unlike the other two boys, Luffy seemed excited to see them judging by his erratic hand waving.

"Hi Law!"

Perhaps he should try to be a little friendlier. Luffy seemed to have a loose tongue and by playing nice with him Law might be able to learn some things about the island. It seemed that he wouldn't even have to separate the boy from his friends as neither older boy was able to control the loose cannon.

"Hello," Law nodded back. He removed his hat and his clothes, carefully folded and placed them away from the other boys'. Bepo went and filled up a small pot of water and grabbed a bar of soap. Luffy was watching him in fascination but the other boys didn't notice the strange sight of a bear preparing for a bath.

"There's no more room in here, Law. Come back later," the hothead Ace snarled. Being friendly was too exhausting. He was going back to being an asshole.

"Don't tell me what to do," Law countered with ease, unaffected by the other boy's menacing looks. Compared to the pirates on the Grand Line, the boy was a mere insect, an ant that would be crushed beneath Doflamingo's pointed-toe shoes.

"How does he do that?" Luffy asked while he pointed at Bepo who had already got himself wet and started lathering the soap in. It was if he had never seen a bear cub wash himself like a human. Bepo visibly deflated at the youngest human's question, his shoulders and head slumping in depression.

"The same way you do," Law rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the children to the best of his ability. He dumped some water on Bepo's back and helped the bear lather the soap into his fur. The fingers running through his snow white fur helped perk Bepo up and a low rumble of pleasure echoed from his chest.

It was going to be an awkward bath. Luffy stared in amazement at the bear that washed himself like a human and Ace's glare was trying to burn a hole into Law's forehead. But the blonde haired Sabo seemed to be staring for an entirely different reason.

"Why does your skin have white patches?" Sabo asked quietly. Law knew the question would come at some point, but he didn't expect it so soon. Perhaps the children were less scared of him than he thought. He may have to remedy that in the future. He rubbed Bepo's fur some more, feeling the texture of his friend underneath his palms.

"You look kind of like a cow," Luffy tilted his head. Ace laughed at the statement but his mouth promptly snapped shut when Bepo started growling. The freckled boy gave Bepo a wary look. Law washed the soap out of Bepo's fur and started cleaning his own skin. His friend turned around to help him wash his hair. Bepo's claws scratched gently at his scalp in a soothing manner.

"I was very sick," Law started. He had no interest in divulging much information, especially for something so incredibly personal. "The illness removed pigment from my skin. It is in remission so the pigment is starting to return."

Sabo's brow furrowed, "How sick were you?"

"Days from dying," his calm reply seemed to upset the boy a little. It was a curious reaction to his statement. "It's not contagious so you don't have to worry about catching anything. It was a type of poisoning."

Bepo dumped fresh water on his human friend's head and Law shook the droplets from his hair. Bepo followed suit and splattered water and fur all around the room. While the other boys complained, Law started drying himself off and dressing. A fast bath and then he was gone. The less interaction with people the better for his sanity.

"Who poisoned you," again, it was Sabo. The boy seemed to have a bit of a bleeding heart. That bleeding heart could get him killed in the future.

Law looked at them from the corner of his eye. "I guess you could say that the World Government is responsible."

"Why would the World Government want to poison you?" Ace's eyes were distrustful. He was a boy who had seen some hardships in life, just like Law. However, his tone of voice suggested he believed the teenager to be bullshitting. Not that Law could blame him for his disbelief. After all, why would the World Government go through the effort of poisoning one puny kid?

But he was just a victim of the greed of humans. He and all the dead citizens of Flevance, the White City.

"Not me, directly. They just didn't care who got hurt as long as they made a profit. The marines helped them cover up." Law debated putting his hat on, but his hair was still wet and he didn't want his hat to get messy.

He paused at the door and looked back at the boys still soaking in the water. They seemed to be waiting for something, perhaps for Law to elaborate?

Law smirked, "If you sit in there any longer you'll turn into prunes."

Ace yelled something at him but Law didn't hear as he had already shut the door behind Bepo. The boys were amusing but they had such innocence about them that Law didn't want to get too involved lest he infect them with his darkness. Ace's eyes showed enough distrust and anger that Law could tell his life wasn't sunshine and butterflies, but he hadn't been terribly hurt by the people he trusted. The boy was wild like a fire just seconds away from burning out of control and Law could see that he had lived nearly his whole life in the woods. The blonde haired Sabo had a certain level of maturity but he seemed to be living some sort of savage fantasy. His way of speaking and dialect gave him away as having an upper class education but what he was doing in the woods with a group of bandits was a mystery. What an interesting duo.

Luffy was a little harder to read. His face was constantly in a state of innocence, smiling and laughing with his brothers. But whether it was a mask or not, Law couldn't tell. The minimal scarring across his body indicated some sort of physical abuse, it was too deliberate to be caused by an accident. Yet the boy didn't let his darkness show. How interesting.

Curled up against his soft pillow of Bepo, Law listened as the boys shuffled around the room. They tripped and stumbled over each other and the futons with minor arguing before the room fell silent except for light snoring. When the breathing of all three evened out to a steady pattern, Law finally allowed himself to drift off into a restless sleep.

The next morning all three boys had vanished. They never returned to the log house.

* * *

><p><em>I now have an urge to bathe my dog.<em>

_Let me know what you think! Please leave a review if you have the time._


	3. In Which There is a Dead Crocodile

Chapter 3

**In Which There is a Dead Crocodile**

Two weeks after Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had left the bandits behind and retreated to the comfort of their tree house, life returned to normal. Or as normal life could ever be for a pack of savage children that lived by themselves in a forest. Luffy argued and pouted about leaving Law behind but allowed his brothers to drag him away from the log house without much protest. Ace liked to think it was because Luffy finally realized that Law was dangerous and they shouldn't be around him. On the other hand, Sabo knew it was because they promised Luffy first dibs on meat after the next hunt.

Ace should have known that his distraction technique would only work for so long. For the next two weeks they hunted food, stole money, and terrorized gangs like normal. But Luffy slowly grew more and more depressed as he was unable to take his mind off his worries. Finally, Ace and Sabo couldn't ignore his melancholy any longer when Luffy took three bites out of his portion of meat and put it back down.

Ace and Sabo exchanged startled looks. Never before had Luffy put down meat.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Sabo asked, his cheeks still stuffed with venison.

"I'm wondering how Law is doing?" Luffy shrugged and picked at the meat on the thigh bone.

Ace snorted and tore into his meat viciously like the carnivorous creature he was. "Forget about him. The creep is fine. No one will go anywhere near that freak."

"That's not nice! Take it back!" Luffy shouted. He jumped to his feet and raised his fists in what he thought was a threatening manner. Instead, Ace turned away and swallowed his mouthful. It was his duty as an older brother to let Luffy know when the younger boy was being an idiot. He would never apologize for speaking the truth.

"Why are you so defensive, Luffy? He never really spoke to us," Sabo asked. He was curious about Luffy's concern over the mysterious new boy. "Law doesn't seem to be the friendly type."

Still glaring at the back of Ace's head, Luffy crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "I know he's gonna be my friend. But how can we be friends if I never see him? What if he forgets about me?"

"That's an interesting way to think about it," Sabo mused. He smiled softly at Luffy's despondent look and shrugged his shoulders. "We're going crocodile hunting tomorrow so how about we go back to visit the day after tomorrow?"

"Yay!" Luffy cheered but promptly fell down when Ace kicked his legs out from underneath him. The older dark haired boy loomed over the younger one with his fists planted on his hips.

"We're not going anywhere near that creep," Ace yelled. He glared fiercely at Sabo for suggesting such a thing without consulting him first. How was he supposed to protect his brothers when both of them actively fought him every step of the way?

"You don't have to come!" Luffy yelled back, getting right up in Ace's face. "Law won't like you anyways because you're always mean!"

"I don't care if he likes me! And you're not going alone you big baby!"

"Bepo will be there!"

"That's Law's bear, not yours!"

"I'll go with him," Sabo smiled at Luffy's pleased look and ignored Ace's glare. "If Luffy thinks he's a good guy, I believe him. I don't think Law will hurt us so you can relax, Ace."

"Whatever," Ace grumbled. He wiped meat grease off his face and flopped down on his futon. Turning away from them he pulled his covers over his head. "I'm going to sleep."

"Sabo's the best big brother ever!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at the dark haired boy hidden under the covers. "He's way nicer than Ace."

Unbeknownst to the other boys, Ace's face was a steamy, embarrassed red under the blanket.

Sabo smiled at Luffy as the smallest boy danced around the tree house. "Are you happy now, Luffy?"

"Yup!" Luffy plopped down in his previously abandoned seat and finally devoured his portion of meat as his worries dissipated. "I can't wait to see Law and Bepo again. Remember how Bepo washed Law's back? That was so cool! I want a pet bear!"

"Luffy, you can't have a bear."

The next day after lunch, the three boys pulled a dead crocodile on a wooden cart behind them and past the walls into Goa Kingdom's main city. Covered in a grey cloak, Ace was sitting on Luffy's shoulders as neither boy was tall enough to pass as even a short adult. Sabo, who was in the midst of a growth spurt, could at least get away as a short teenager by using his top hat and was wearing his own grey cloak.

They travelled past the guards and into the main city for the first time in a few weeks. The dirty alleys and shifty people of the outer walls didn't intimidate the boys and they continued past the leers and glares. The farther they moved into the city, the more space people gave them. It  
>seemed to be a mix of suspicion of the cloaked figures and disgust for the foul crocodile carcass.<p>

Within an hour they had sold the dead crocodile for a decent pile of Belis and exited the trader's shop with their money bag significantly heavier. All three boys had large grins stretched across their faces at the amount of money Ace carried in his hands.

Ace chuckled as he counted the money they managed to bargain for the crocodile skin. "A good one today, we got lucky. That old man was a lot more generous than before."

"Maybe because the crocodile wasn't as beat up this time around? You two are way too rough," Sabo rolled his eyes.

Ace shrugged and laughed but Luffy moaned in annoyance. "Ace, can I be the head now? You're too heavy and my shoulders hurt."

"Suck it up," Ace patted Luffy on the head. "I'm older and smarter so I get to be the head."

"But your feet are really smelly," Luffy moaned again and peaked out through the divide in the cloak. He perked up at the sight of a fuzzy spotted hat that he'd been wanting to see for a long time.

"Whoa! Luffy, what are you doing?" Ace could barely stay upright when his costume's bottom half decided to run in the opposite direction they were meant to go. With the money clutched tightly in one hand, Ace gripped Luffy's straw hat with the other hand. "Where are you going, you moron?"

"Technically, he _is_ the legs!" Sabo called from behind them.

Luffy stopped and spun around in a circle when the person he was chasing disappeared. Ace was yelling something in his ear but he ignored the older boy. A white mass disappearing down an alley caught his eye and he grinned. He sprinted down the alley and turned the same corner that the white thing disappeared behind. Finally he spotted them: a short boy and a polar bear  
>cub were several feet in front of them.<p>

"Law! Bepo!" Luffy screamed. Ace groaned and slid off of Luffy's shoulders. He didn't want to be off balance around the Freak. Sabo skidded to a stop behind them.

Law stumbled slightly and jerked around at Luffy's scream. Although more subdued than most people, his surprise was still evident by his wide eyes and shaky breaths. The teenager took two calming breaths before speaking.

"Hello." His voice was still the same drawling monotone and it set Ace's teeth on edge. The white spots continued to be visible on his face but seemed to have shrunk slightly in the past two weeks. However, the thick dark circles under his eyes were still exceptionally prominent and gave him the image of a chronic insomniac. Bepo's fur was a brighter white than the last time they saw him and the sun glinted brilliantly off his head. He carried a thick black bag in his mouth and was squatted comfortably next to his human friend.

"What are ya doin' here?" Luffy asked. He bounced forward like a rubber ball and rubbed Bepo's fur behind his ear. He didn't notice the bear glance at his human friend for instructions on what to do with the little human petting him. "I thought you were still with the bandits."

"I left a while ago; they hold no interest for me."

Sabo pulled his hood down. "Where are you living? Grey Terminal or the forest?"

A smirk spread across Law's face. "Neither, I have boarding in the city."

"Boarding? You mean a room in the city? How'd you get that?" Ace grumbled. He never got boarding in the city. Well, legal boarding anyways.

"I'm an apprentice. My employer is paying me in room and food," Law glanced up at the sun's position and turned back towards his original destination. "I must go back now since I have a job. Don't ever bother me again. Come, Bepo."

The bear snapped out of its stupor and jerked away from the hand behind his ear. He trotted after Law on all fours, a poor attempt at pretending to be a dog.

"Okay! See ya later!" Luffy called, he ignored Law's cringe and smiled at his brothers. "Now we know where Law is so we can visit!"

"Not really. We don't know his address," Sabo pointed out.

"Right! Hey Law!" When Luffy turned around, Law and Bepo were gone. They had taken his temporary distraction to escape and were long gone. "Damn."

"Don't worry; at least we know they're doing alright." Sabo rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder in an effort to comfort the younger boy. "We'll see them again."

"You're right, I'll see them again." Luffy smiled with complete faith that things would work out in the end.

Sabo flipped the hood of his cloak back over his head. "I wonder what kind of work he's doing. He doesn't look like someone who does a lot of physical work."

Ace snorted and pushed Luffy's head down, forcing the smaller boy down so he could climb on Luffy's shoulders. "With those twigs for arms? He looks like a strong breeze could blow him over."

"Those white spots on his skin looked smaller but he still looks really sick. Or maybe he's always tired?" Sabo smiled at Luffy's disgruntled huff as Ace made himself comfortable.

"He's really small for a teenager," Ace flipped the hood over his head. "What kind of illness did he say he had?"

"He said it was poisoning," Sabo replied. His lips quirked into a slight smile and Sabo gave his brother an amused glance. "Is this concern I hear, Ace?"

"No, I just don't want to catch whatever illness he has," Ace huffed.

"Sure … whatever you say."

"It's true! Shut up! Stop laughing!"

"I'm not laughing at you, Ace," Luffy grunted under his brother's weight. Beside them Sabo's shoulders shook from trying to hold in his laughter.

"Sabo's just being a jerk," Sabo could feel Ace's glare through the back of his head. His brother could be so touchy whenever Sabo pointed out that Ace may actually care a little.

"Okay, whatever you say." Sabo hummed a little tune to drown out Ace's grumbling. "What should we do now?"

"Let's go to the port!" Luffy piped up from deep within the gray cloak. "I want to see the ships."

"Good idea for once," Ace patted Luffy on the head like a little dog. "We can grab lunch at that fish and chips shack. Remember that one, Sabo?"

"The one that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in years? That place was delicious. Alright, let's go. We can spend some of today's earnings."

Down at the port they shed their cloaks and Luffy was finally free of Ace's smelly feet. They dashed from ship to ship, admiring the tall masts and massive sails. They stopped to drool over a small but well-built caravel. The wood was dark timber and the craftsmanship was better than anything the boys had ever seen among the fishing boats. Ace laughed over the peculiar choice of a figurehead. Sabo and Luffy had to agree that a pink flamingo was an unusual choice.

After staring at all the ships they wanted but couldn't afford, the three boys stopped in at the small snack shack next to the port. The building was poorly built and the wood was rotting from the salt air. Inside, the tables and chairs were mismatched collections and stained with grease, beer, and something that looked suspiciously like blood. The clientele matched the restaurant. Fishermen, sailors, and the working class frequented the shop so the boys felt no need to hide under their cloaks for the meal. They were in no danger of being recognized by anyone who would turn them into the local government or Sabo's wealthy parents.

The owner stared at them suspiciously when they walked in but let them be when the boys paid up. All the other customers ignored the slightly smelly, wild looking boys and went about their business.

"Aww man, 'dis is so good!" Luffy moaned around a mouthful of fried fish. He shoved another forkful of the delicious fish in his already stuffed mouth.

"Can you even taste the food? You're eating so fast!" Sabo laughed and munched on another fry.

Luffy said something in reply but neither of his brothers could understand what he said as his mouth was stuffed with fish and chips. Rolling his eyes, Ace pushed a glass of water towards the younger boy and waited for Luffy to guzzle the water and clear his throat.

"Ah!" Luffy sighed and set down the empty glass. "This is amazing! I want more!"

"Hold on and let us finish," Sabo laughed. "We'll order some more in a minute."

But Luffy was already gone; he banged on the worn stained counter to get the owner's attention. "I want more fish!"

Ace and Sabo sighed as the owner glowered at the demanding little brat. But he passed over a plate of freshly fried fish and chips and snatched the money Luffy tossed on the counter.

"You're going to get us kicked out, Luffy," Sabo moaned and depressingly shoved a fry in his mouth. "We'll be banned from another restaurant."

"Hn?" Luffy asked with an entire fried fish hanging out of his mouth and his hands busy smothering his fries in tomato ketchup.

"You're impossible," Sabo slapped his hand over his eyes. He glanced over at Ace who had been rather quiet. The other boy was staring at something in the crowded restaurant. "What are you looking at?"

"Check out this guy," Ace jerked his chin towards a man who had just walked in.

Sabo and Luffy followed his gaze and immediately found who Ace had been referring to. The man was tall but much of his height was made up of his pale hair that stuck straight up like spikes on his head. His black clothing consisted of gears, buckles, and other random metal bits that made the man look like a piece of machinery. But the most interesting thing was the tight mask that covered his lower face and the circular goggles that hid his eyes. The man was probably one of the most unique individuals any of the boys had ever seen.

The boys were not the only ones fascinated by the new arrival. Almost everyone was looking at the strangely dressed man and not just because of his unusual clothing and hair. The way he held himself with confidence suggested this man was strong and knew how to use his strength.

Ignoring the eyes on him, the man stepped forward and nodded at the greasy haired owner behind the counter. "Hello," he greeted. His deep voice was muffled by the mask over his mouth and nose.

"What can I get ya?" The owner asked. The owner's suspicious look was more subdued than when he glared at the boys. Perhaps the man, like everyone else, could sense that the stranger was not someone to mess with.

"I'm looking for someone. Perhaps you've seen him?" The owner waved a hand for the man to continue. "He's a rather short teenager with dark hair but he normally wears a white hat. He's a little sickly looking and might have white spots on his skin."

Both Ace's and Sabo's faces paled at the man's words. They remembered the warning Garp left them when he dropped Trafalgar Law off at the bandit log house.

"_I don't want you three to speak a word of Law's presence here, understand? He has some very dangerous enemies."_

The owner was shaking his head before the man had even finished. "I don't get many kids coming in here. Have you tried inside the city?"

"Yes, but no luck. Thank you for your time." The man turned away from the counter but paused when he spotted the three boys sitting in the corner.

The steps he took towards their table were careful and calculated. Ace and Sabo exchanged glances and Ace looked at Luffy who was staring at the man curiously. If Luffy said anything there was going to be trouble. This man was dangerous and Luffy had a loose tongue.

"Luffy," Sabo hissed under his breath. Apparently he had the same thought as Ace. "Don't say anything."

"Hello," the man greeted. He was even taller up close and he towered over the boys. Ace felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. "I'm looking for my friend's little brother. He normally wears a white hat and is around your height. His name is Trafalgar Law. Have you seen him?"

Sabo quickly shoved a fistful of fries into Luffy's mouth to prevent the idiot from saying anything. The older dark haired boy quickly answered the man before he noticed Sabo and Luffy's unusual actions.

"Afraid I haven't," Ace shrugged. His palms felt sticky and his stomach was turning over but he fought to keep his face straight. "We're not actually from the city so we don't know many kids around here."

The man looked over at Sabo and Luffy. Sabo's face was perfectly set into a poker face but Luffy was hiding his unease about lying beneath his chipmunk cheeks. His eyes were turned towards the wall and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. With the stranger's face so completely covered, they couldn't tell if he believed them or not.

"Well, thank you for your time." The man politely nodded and left the restaurant. All three boys sighed in relief and slumped down in their seats. Luffy swallowed the mouthful of fries and wiped his mouth.

"Who was that?" The youngest boy asked.

"That," Ace's eyes narrowed at the door the strange man had disappeared through. "Was one of Trafalgar Law's dangerous enemies."

* * *

><p><em>Big thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favourited this story. It really makes my day to hear from all the readers! I wish everyone good luck in the New Year!<em>

_Because of excessive travelling during the holidays, I was unable to respond to all the lovely reviews so I'll put my responses right down here._

_Kiki2000: Here is some more for you! Not much Law in this but he comes back next chapter._

_Shin Ryecchan: Thank you, I try my best to keep them in character. There might be some slip ups but I'm sure someone will point out my mistake. Law is thirteen in this so quite a bit older physically and mentally than the other boys. I believe he's 26 after the time skip but don't quote me on that._

_Missy anon: Law is such a reserved character that I can't help but wonder how he would react to ASL. Did you get your blushing polar bear?_

_Son of Whitebeard: I've got a different antagonist than Bluejam coming in. Great big hint this chapter._

_coolgamer: Thank you! I just want people to enjoy reading my stories. Here is your reward for waiting patiently!_

_zealousfreak27: I'll do my best to keep the boys in character. Law terrified me when he was a kid in the manga. He's probably the scariest 10 year old I've seen in a while._

_LuciferRin72: I think Law would be more likely to use them as brain surgery practice than join the boys! I'm sure Luffy would be a fascinating study. Bepo is love; Bepo is life._

_SpaceDandyman: Everyone judges a book by its cover and/or summary. Glad I could change your mind!_

_X-AoHime-X: A sigh of relief over here! It's always nerve-wracking writing something different._

_Mrs. E: He is disturbed, and rather disturbing (which is just pure fun to write!). The maturity gap seems wide because of their different experiences. What Law experienced was worse than what ASL could ever imagine and he knows that. It would be hard to open up to anyone after those experiences. That's just my thoughts on the matter. If Oda-sensei doesn't tell us soon, I'm going to use my story for Bepo._

_Yoo: I know no Spanish but … I love Law too! Glad you enjoyed it._

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Aww, Ace is just a little possessive and jealous. He's just a yappy Labrador puppy trying to make himself look bigger. Here's your update!_

_alegra77: Interesting is a good start. I love these boys too, they make my heart all warm and fuzzy!_

_421X1412: Law kind of slows things down with his antisocial attitude and introverted-ness. Potential is good, I hope I can match up to expectations._

_LostFairyMantric: Bepo is a brilliant idea. Oda is a genius. And good call on naming your stuffed animal Bepo, is it a white bear?_

_Lunar191: Hooked on a fishing rod? Unlike Luffy, I have some bait! Here's some more bait for you!_

_As usual, if you have time please leave a little review. I always appreciate hearing from the readers since it keeps me motivated to write some more._


	4. In Which There is an Explosion

Chapter 4

**In Which There is an Explosion**

A week after meeting the three wannabe pirate boys again, Law and Bepo strolled past the city gates, through Grey Terminal, and into Mt. Corvo's forest. The sky was overcast with a typhoon moving north a hundred miles to the west. The smaller trees swayed in the wind, their branches creaking ominously. The deeper parts of the forest off the trail were dark and dreary. It was beautiful.

Law double-checked the map the old doctor had given him. For the past three weeks Law had been serving as an apprentice to a grizzled old doctor in Goa Kingdom. Dr. Charles Adair was rough around the edges and gruff with both his apprentice and his patients. But the man knew exactly what he was doing and recognized some amount of talent in Law.

Dr. Adair ran a small clinic in the working class sector and limited his patients to the poor who could normally not afford medical services. It was the ideal place for Law to practice his medicine. Unlike doctors in the wealthy district, Dr. Adair treated a wide variety of illnesses and injuries. The poor never went to the doctor until it was almost too late and Dr. Adair had to perform what everyone else considered miracles. But Law knew better. There were no miracles in science.

One day a week, the clinic was closed. But while Dr. Adair rested his old tired bones, Law and Bepo were sent on a scavenger hunt for an herb with medical properties that grew on the southwest coast of Mt. Corvo. According to his medical encyclopaedias, Witch Hazel was used as a salve to disinfect a wound and speed healing while acting as an anti-inflammatory. Dr. Adair used a mixture of it on young children with cuts and bruises and often sent home a small amount for continued use. Law never cared for painkillers and anaesthetics but he understood the necessity with sobbing, snot-nosed brats. He would rather watch them squirm, but that was a personal preference.

His companion huffed and pulled up the backpack that slid down his shoulder. He paused to squeeze his other paw through the second strap. It resulted in Bepo's arms sticking up as the straps pushed at his armpits.

"That doesn't look comfortable," Law mused. Although he normally enjoyed other's discomfort, watching his only friend in the world struggle pulled at something in his heart. He adjusted and lengthen the straps so Bepo could move his arms freely. "Better?"

"Thank you, Captain," Bepo said. Once upon a time, those eyes full of idol worship scared Law but now he felt comfortable under his friend's gaze. Bepo believed that he could take on the world and win. Finally, he had started to believe that he could match up to those expectations.

"We should be close to the location," Law looked around at the foliage and fauna, noticing the subtle changes. "Do you remember the description?"

"Yes, Captain," Bepo nodded.

"Good, but just in case. We want a large shrub with stringy yellow flowers. Just a few branches should do since Dr. Adair wants to try growing them himself."

They walked a little further until Bepo stopped and stood up straight. His ears wiggled forward and his nose sniffed the air wildly. It was not a defensive position so Law relaxed his grip on the cheap katana he managed to procure illegally.

"What is it?"

"Boys. Here," Bepo grunted. Law did not acknowledge the new word but appreciated his friend's growing vocabulary. "And funny smell … boom." Bepo made a wide, sweeping gesture with his paws.

"You mean the three idiots, right?" Law hummed at Bepo's nod. "They do live in the forest like a pack of wild dogs so that doesn't surprise me. Perhaps we're close to their base. Do keep your ears open for any sound of them. I don't want to test to see if stupidity is contagious."

They set to work and just after noon they had accumulated a decent pile of the herb Dr. Adair needed. The sky had cleared slightly with the sun forcing its way through the cloud coverage. The birds began to brave the weather and several of them were swooping over the sea searching for their next meal.

A break was needed after all the searching and the friends sat on the cliff with a beautiful view of the sea. Law could imagine North Blue just over the Red Line. But more than that, the Grand Line was waiting for him. It called out to his heart, begging him to return to its treacherous waters and islands of adventure. And at the end of the Grand Line was the mysterious island of Raftel where One Piece lay waiting for the next Pirate King.

"We'll get out there, Bepo," the bear followed his gaze to the horizon. "We'll conquer the Grand Line."

"Together?"

Law smiled at how innocent the question sounded but to Bepo it meant everything. "Of course. I need the best first mate to watch my back."

A pink tinge spread across Bepo's nose. "Thank you."

"We'll find One Piece and I'll become Pirate King," Law smiled at the thought of the one man he knew would be proud of that dream. "But first I'll stop Doflamingo. Only after he's gone will I be truly free."

After a light lunch of onigiri, smoked fish, and pickled vegetables, Law and Bepo packed up for the trek back to the city. They were a half hour into their walk when the ground shook beneath their feet. Law glanced at Bepo but the bear was searching the woods with his ears and nose. So it wasn't an earthquake.

"What is it?" Law hissed at his furry companion when the bear wasn't quick enough to explain.

Unable to explain with words, Bepo ran off the path into the heavy foliage with Law on his heels. The ground trembled again beneath their feet and Law struggled to remain upright with branches licking at his face. Bepo stopped at the tree line and stared at the sight before him. The dark haired boy with the white spotted hat came to stand beside him, also in awe.

The three idiots galore were attempting to fight a giant grizzly bear. The scar over its eye and ferocious roar indicated the bear was in its prime and possibly one of the most dangerous creatures in the forest. The three bruised and bloodied boys were trying to swarm the massive bear. And they were fighting it with metal poles that looked like they were ripped from someone's shoddy plumbing.

"Their level of idiocy is amazing," Law mumbled in awe. He got excited when the bear almost decapitated the older boy Ace. Instead it managed to nick the leg of Sabo who yelled in pain. The boys struggled to get close enough to hit the bear even with all three working together. "I didn't know anyone could be so stupid. They have no chance against that thing with its adrenaline pumping like that."

"No," Bepo sighed. Wisdom of their fates glowed faintly in his eyes. "They die."

"I agree. So why aren't they running?"

Luffy managed to get caught by the bear's massive claws and smashed into the ground near Law and Bepo. He sat up rubbing his head and complaining about something. Cocking his arm back for a punch, Luffy threw his fist forward and Law watched in fascination as his arm stretched like a rubber band. He completely missed the bear and nearly hit himself in the head when his arm returned to its regular shape. The idiot had apparently eaten a paramecia Devil Fruit that looked to be rubber based. Law still considered him the biggest idiot of the three, after all, who would knowingly eat a rubber Devil Fruit? What a useless power.

"What are you doing?" Law drawled, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Luffy jumped at the sound and whirled around to spot the two observers in the trees. "Hi Law! Hi Bepo!"

"What are you doing?" Law repeated, rather exasperated with the boy's short attention span and memory of a goldfish.

"Oh, fighting a bear!" Luffy smiled.

Law stared at the boy while waiting for further explanation. When none proved to be forthcoming he figured he should prod out the explanation. "Why are you fighting a bear?"

"To see who will be captain! The one to beat the bear gets to be captain on our pirate ship."

"I see … and what if you die?"

"We won't die."

"You will have your throat ripped out by his teeth first, and then he will gorge on your intestines while your body's still warm. Of course you will die."

Luffy stared at Law in confusion. "I don't understand."

The bear roared and with one swipe of its paw, Ace and Sabo were sent flying towards where Luffy, Law, and Bepo stood. They sent up a cloud of dust where they impacted into the ground. Law brushed dirt of his hat and stared as all three boys struggled to stand.

"You're exhausted and much too weak to fight that bear. Why don't you save your energy and live to fight another day?" Law asked. Ace snorted when he realized who it was asking the question but Sabo did his best to answer through his gasping breath as he tried to stem the flow of blood from the wound on his leg.

"We don't … run … ever."

Law thought about the man who changed everything in his life. How much Cora-san sacrificed so Law could run away to have his freedom and fight another day. If he had gone after Doflamingo that day for revenge, he would've thrown away Cora-san's sacrifice for nothing more than pride. Pride could make a man stronger in many situations but it was more likely to be a man's downfall.

"There is no shame in running," Law said, but the boys ignored him.

They threw themselves at the grizzly again. But they were no match for the massive bear in their exhausted states. While their energy had run its course, the bear was still pumped full of adrenaline and hungry if Law was right. It looked a little like Bepo when he really wanted to eat some fish.

The grizzly growled and bared his sharp teeth. Saliva dripped down to the ground below and the bear tensed, ready to move in for the kill. All three boys were too exhausted to run. Once the bear was done with them, he would go after Law and Bepo next. Law justified his next action by telling himself he was just jumping a couple steps and solving the problem early.

"Room"

A blue sphere spanned out across the field, covering the three boys and the bear. Bepo was used to Law's powers, having watched the teenager experiment with his abilities before. However, the other three humans and one adult bear were surprised to be enveloped in the humming blue sphere.

"What is this?" Ace yelled as the blue film passed over his exhausted form.

Law held up his hand with his index pointed towards the boys and his thumb sticking up. The bear, having lost interest in the strange dome, lunged at the three distracted boys. Ace and Sabo clued in fast enough to find time to scream.

Law flipped his hand. "Shambles."

The boys appeared behind Bepo and the grizzly lunged face-first into a rotted log. It roared in frustration and anger, locking its pitch black eyes on Law who was closest to him. In a way, Law could understand the bear's frustration. It had been minding its own business when three idiotic morons decided to attack it for no reason. Yet he had no choice but to eliminate the problem.

The katana at his hip slid from the sheath almost silently and he held it upwards in the air, ready to begin his operation.

"What are you doing with that sword so far away? You need to – " Whatever Sabo was going to say trailed off at the sight before him. Ace shared his astonishment and Luffy began babbling excitedly about fruits.

Law's katana slashed through the air with a grace neither boy had seen on the island. At first it seemed the boy was just warming up. But then the bear separated into three pieces, the head floated away from its torso and the legs remained quivering on the ground. The bear's sounds turned panicked as it noticed the unusual state of its body. Foam dribbled out of its mouth as it fell unconscious, unable to rationalize the situation. The bear lasted longer than some humans.

"Wha -? WHAT THE HELL?" Ace screamed out and scrambled back to his feet. That ridiculous pole was waved threateningly in Law's face. A small smear of blood was on the rounded end. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Remove that thing from near my face or I will decapitate you," Law drawled, not at all feeling threatened as his figurative operating table was still humming above them and his katana was gripped tightly in his hand.

"That was so cool! How'd you do it?" Luffy cheered. He knocked Ace out of the way in his enthusiasm and smiled brilliantly at Law. Once again, the boy from North Blue was taken aback by the familiarity of the smile.

It looked just like Cora-san's smile.

"I ate the Ope-Ope Fruit. I'm a modification man."

"Is it dead?" Sabo asked, his hands were putting pressure on the cut the grizzly left on his leg. At least he had some basic first aid knowledge and the blood seemed to have stopped seeping through his fingers.

"No, merely unconscious. I don't need to kill to incapacitate."

"Wow! Law is so strong! Join my crew!" Ace and Sabo's jaws dropped at Luffy's demand. Neither one thought he would be so quick to attempt to recruit the creepy new kid.

"What?" Law raised an eyebrow.

"When I get older I'm going to be a pirate captain. I want you and Bepo to be part of my crew. Ace and Sabo already are," Luffy nodded sagely, ignoring his brother's growing irritation.

"NO WE'RE NOT!" Both older boys recovered enough to whack him on the head with their fists, sending him face-first into the ground. Luffy spat out a mouthful of dirt and smiled at Law again.

"Okay, they haven't agreed. But you can be my first mate!"

"No," Law deadpanned. He turned and rolled his eyes at Bepo who shrugged in response. Neither one could figure out this boy.

"Aww, why not?" Luffy's hands reached out to grab Law's arm but a suddenly loud snarl from Bepo sent him backpedaling away from Law and the bear. The boys were not the only ones surprised by Bepo's unexpected outburst of aggression, Law had not heard the bear make that sound in months. Being a weak pushover by nature, Bepo rarely could work up the nerve to try and intimidate something unless he felt Law was in danger. But he had crouched down into a tense, aggressive stance and continued to make that vicious noise from the back of his throat.

The other boys were babbling something about controlling his bear but Law ignored them. He followed Bepo's gaze to the dense undergrowth of the woods. Law raised his sword and solidified his stance with his other arm outstretched, ready to use his power. Something dangerous was obviously in there.

"Come out and show yourself," Law yelled into the forest. The younger boys had quieted down and were searching the tree line for whatever Bepo had noticed.

Finally, from the bushes emerged a tall man dressed in a long black coat with gold detailing designed in shapes of gears. His face was covered with a mask and goggles and his hair defied gravity like no other, sticking straight up in sharp spikes. Law felt the blood drain from his face and his hands shook with tension. He knew this man well. There was no way he was ready to face this man yet.

"Look at you, Law," the masked man drawled. "Learning how to use your new power? You always were a fast learner."

"Gladius," Law hissed through gritted teeth. Gladius was one of the executives in Doflamingo's crew. Like almost all the executives, Gladius had the power of a Devil Fruit. He was a rupture man and was one of the crew members Law spent a great deal of time with when he was part of Doflamingo's crew.

"Hey! That's the guys from the fish shack!" The straw hat boy pointed a finger at the tall man but Law hardly noticed. All his attention had zeroed in on every little movement Gladius made. If he missed even the slightest movement, Gladius could blow him to pieces.

"When you were captured by Garp the Hero, the Young Master almost gave up on you," Gladius stopped several meters from the boys. Bepo had shuffled over to stand in front of the younger boys who were still injured and exhausted. "But Vergo suggested that Garp was too soft hearted to bring you into headquarters. After all, thirteen years old is awfully young for an execution. Even if you are a pirate."

"You're a pirate?" Luffy gasped from behind him. But Law paid no attention to the boy.

Gladius continued as if the interruption had never happened. "So we considered the option that perhaps he would try to hide you. Where better to start looking than his home island?"

"What do you want?" His hands were stiff from the tension of trying to keep them from trembling and the katana's handle was slippery from sweat.

"As unfriendly as ever. I had expected you to be happier to see someone from the Family." If they could see beneath his mask, a severe frown would be slashed across Gladius's face. "Is that anyway to speak to your teacher?"

"I'm not his puppet," Law snarled, his temper flared at the reminder of his former life with the Donquixote pirates. "I won't die for him."

Sharp, focused eyes narrowed from behind the tinted goggles. "What did Corazon say to you?"

"He told me enough. That Doflamingo wants the Ope-Ope Fruit because of rumours that the user can grant immortality."

"And Corazon was supposed to eat it, not you." Gladius removed his hands from his pockets and rested them at his side. The casual stance was meant to make Law relax but it did the opposite. From his marksmen training with the man, Law knew that the rupture man never relaxed. "The Young Master was so upset to learn that his own brother had betrayed him. You do know that he was a spy for the Marines? You hate the Marines."

"Of course," Law swallowed down a lump in his throat. His memories of Cora-san's last day alive were still vivid in his mind. The smell of the wooden chest he had hidden in, the sound of gunshots from a revolver, the feel of his chest gasping in silent cries. Nor could he ever forget Cora-san's apology to him, days after Law had stopped caring that the man worked for his hated enemy. He would never forget.

"The Young Master was so disappointed that you ate the Fruit instead. He had such big plans for you." The harshness in the man's voice softened but his stance didn't relax at all. "He's been considering ways to work around this little mistake. He really would rather if you lived, Law. He still wants you to be his right-hand man."

Doflamingo, the Warlord, was known as the Charismatic Devil. However, Gladius had never picked up his captain's charisma. Neither was he very good at lying.

Law narrowed his eyes and tightened his sweaty grip on the katana. "Don't lie to me – "

But Law never got to finish his refusal. A blast with the force of a cannon forced him reeling backwards. His shoulder hit the ground hard sending a shock of pain throughout his upper body. Several feet later he skidded to a stop and quickly assessed his injuries. His shoulder, although bruised and aching, had not been dislocated in his fall. Otherwise there appeared to be no serious injuries, just various scrapes and bruises and a sore throat from accidentally inhaling a mouthful of dust.

The teenager stood up on shaky feet and assessed the situation. The other three boys had been in the radius of the blast but were not victims of the full on attack. All three looked dazed and confused as to how they came to be sprawled on the ground, surrounded by dust and chunks of earth. Bepo was near them, shaking his head to get rid of any dizziness. Other than Bepo, not one of the others would be able to run fast enough to escape.

"Teenagers," Gladius drawled through the dust, his shadow moved ominously towards Law. "Such temperamental beings."

Law couldn't respond to the comment as he was too busy trying to clear his throat of dust and debris. He shuffled backwards, away from the approaching Devil Fruit user.

"I remember how three years ago you came to us, desperate to destroy everything." Gladius stopped outside the cloud of dust and intertwined his fingers behind his back. The action set Law's teeth on edge, he felt like a weak little puppy cowering under a powerful Rottweiler. But as much as he hated to admit it, he was weak and powerless compared to an experienced Devil Fruit user like Gladius.

"I still want to," Law snapped. His eyes narrowed in concentration. He would have to move fast to catch Gladius off-guard. The man had already entered his attack range. "Room."

Law swung his katana but Gladius had already ducked the attack and shot a counter attack right back at the dark haired boy. The blast hit a chunk of upturned earth as Law switched places with it, succeeding in getting a different angle. His next attack managed to take off Gladius's hand and forearm in a mixture of speed and pure luck.

He could already see the veins popping out in the man's forehead. Normally, Gladius was calm and collected, but his temper was explosive and dangerous.

"You little shithead," he growled, eying the hand that had floated away from him. "You've been practicing."

"Not really," Law smirked, although he wasn't as confident as he pretended to look. "I just had a good teacher." He was just stalling, anything to avoid getting captured and taken back to Doflamingo. He wasn't ready to kill the monster yet. He wasn't even strong enough to beat an executive let alone the captain.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, little student." Gladius tilted his head down and jumped forward, releasing a blast of energy right at Law's feet.

Although he managed to complete a switch with a rock at the far end of his sphere, Law still got some of the blast. His leg burned from the force of the blast and sent Law to his knees. The blue, humming sphere vanished with his loss of concentration.

"I can see you're going to be difficult about this, so let's try something different." Gladius raised his remaining hand and pointed in the direction of Bepo and the three savage boys. "Can you stop me before I blow their bodies to pieces?"

The vulgarity that Law's mind spewed would be enough to make a sailor blush like a schoolgirl. He was so focused on Gladius that he had forgotten about Bepo. The oldest two of the boys were yelling something and the youngest was screaming with tears running down his face. But Law could only focus on Bepo and his sorrowful gaze. His friend's eyes told him that whatever happened, he had already been forgiven. It made his heart catch in his throat. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take the chance.

Law tossed the katana several feet from him and knelt down into the dirt. He didn't say anything but threaded his fingers together behind his head.

"Well, isn't this surprising," Gladius mused. He bent down and picked up the limb Law managed to sever. "I never thought that you, of all people, would have a bleeding heart."

"Shut up," Law growled. He ignored Bepo's whimpering and focused harder on the ants running through the blades of grass. Worker ants that lived and died for their queen.

"Such attitude. You should know better, Law," Gladius chuckled. There was a ruffling of clothing and the other boys started yelling again. Their voices merged into a melody of fear and panic. Law's head jerked up to find Gladius aiming his hand at them, the forearm already swollen with energy. "Perhaps I'll just kill them anyways."

"NO!" The scream tore out of his throat before he could fully comprehend the situation. Bepo and the other boys were scrambling away but they were too slow.

But so was Gladius, a large figure grabbed Gladius's head from behind and slammed him face-first into the earth. The explosion from his arm shot harmlessly into the woods and sent a flock of birds into panic.

When the dust cleared and the mysterious figure was revealed, Law let out a sigh of relief. It was an unusual feeling to be thankful to see a Marine. Even if he was an idiot, he was a strong idiot.

"Don't hurt my grandsons, you bastard," growled Garp the Hero.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so hopefully this speedy update will tide all you wonderful readers over for a while. I'm having a bit of a health problem which is irritatingly painful and driving me up the wall. My next appointment isn't for over a week but hopefully I can get something for the pain until everything is solved. Until then, I'm having too much trouble focusing so I'm going to take a two week break.<em>

_For the lovely reviewers without an account: your replies are here!_

_Guest (Jan 9): Yes indeed it was Gladius. Things actually went boom because that's just how Gladius rolls!_

_Yoo: No worries about the Spanish! I was just worried if Google translate might fail (it's happened before). Please, continue to write in Spanish. I also like the "what if" stories too!_

_Guest (Jan 15): Here! Is this soon? Uh, sorry. I think I did another cliff hanger … But isn't Bepo adorable?_

_Big thanks to everyone who favourite, follow, and read this story. You guys are awesome!_

_So, maybe try back in two or three weeks. But yeah, health problems. It's hard to control this stuff. I need a Chopper doctor. As sexy as Dr. Trafalgar would be, his bedside manners are horrible!_


	5. In Which There is an Idiot

_Big thanks to everyone who reviewed. I decided to reply to all reviews at once so I can keep track of them all rather than getting lost in my PM Inbox and outbox. You are, of course, welcome to send me a PM to make a comment, chat, or ask a question._

_: Well, you never know. That all depends on Garp. But Law's not out of the woods yet!_

_**Emango23**: Aww, thank you! I always try my best and I really appreciate the kind words._

_**The Lord's Fallen Angel**: Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying …. It's all because of Marineford …._

_**SilverLunaMoon**: Law's quite a bit older than ASL and has actual experience in the Grand Line so I didn't think it much of a stretch for him to master his Devil Fruit in such a short time. Having someone like Doflamingo stalking you is also motivation. Eek!_

_**xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx** : I glad you've enjoyed it so far!_

_**Marion**: Merci beaucoup!_

_**Transformers' BABY**: I updated! Thanks for leaving a review!_

_**Guest**: I'm happy you love it! I hope you continue to enjoy reading!_

_**Neoqueen Sandy**: Ace is a little insecure, isn't he? Thanks for the kind comments! The answer to your question will come in this chapter and the next one._

_So my infected tooth is better, with the help of a root canal. Ewww! Everyone: don't delay going to a dentist if you have a bad toothache! I say this from experience._

_I'm a little mentally exhausted from the past few weeks so I don't think this is up to snuff. I will go back and make adjustments when I feel more enthusiastic._

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

**In Which There is an Idiot**

"Gramps?!" Luffy gasped. Ace made a similar noise of astonishment from somewhere behind him. The appearance of his grandfather was entirely unexpected. One second he was in tears from almost having his head blown off by the crazy spiky haired man, the next second his equally crazy grandfather jumped the man from behind and drilled his face into the dirt.

Honestly, Luffy was really confused about what was going on.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here but no one hurts my grandsons but me," Garp apparently was equally clueless to the situation. He stood up tall and cracked his knuckles menacingly. "And I only smack some sense into the rascals."

Luffy and Ace exchanged bewildered looks. Garp could be almost as dangerous as the strange man who just tried to blow them to pieces. From the ground behind them, Sabo attempted to push a large rock that had landed on his leg, twisting it in an awkward position.

The other man, Law had called him Gladius, got to his feet and brushed dirt off his long coat. "I didn't expect to see you, Lieutenant Garp."

"Why the hell not?" Garp snorted. "It's my home island."

"Hmm … " Gladius drawled. His tone was amused and deprecating. "No reason. But now you've made things complicated. I'm sure you know what I'm here for."

"Of course, I'm not an idiot." Garp pounded his fist into his open palm. The action was meant to be intimidating but his opponent looked unaffected. Of course, no one could actually see the man's face.

"Good, then perhaps we can come to an agreement. Let me take him and no one else will get hurt."

"What makes you think I'll just pass him over?" Garp growled like an angry dog. "He's my responsibility."

"Then one less responsibility for you to deal with." The explosive human crossed his arms over his chest. He looked annoyed with the conversation. Apparently he had never dealt with a member of the Monkey family before.

"Even if he's an idiot, I will never give him up to a pirate!"

Gladius looked taken aback and titled his head to the side. From behind the pirate the boys could see an extremely offended Law flip his middle finger towards Garp while he discreetly shuffled towards his fallen katana.

Surprise was woven throughout Gladius's voice. "I may not be his biggest fan right now but the boy is no idiot. He managed to elude us until you got involved and made us aware of his location."

"What?" the older Marine scratched his head. "Who the hell are you talking about?"

"Law, of course. Who were you talking about?"

A light visibly clicked on upstairs in Garp's head and he snapped his fingers. "Ah! Now that makes sense. I thought you were talking about Ace."

"Hey!" Ace shouted from where he was lifting the large, stray rock off Sabo's leg. "Who're you calling an idiot?"

"I have no idea who 'Ace' is." Gladius rubbed his temple with his fingers in an action that just screamed mental exhaustion. Any conversation with a Monkey normally ended in exhaustion. "Regardless, stay out of our affairs, 'Hero'."

"I can't let you take Law either. I'm gonna turn him into a strong Marine."

It started so small they weren't sure if it was part of their imagination. Ever so slowly, it grew louder and louder until the old man, three boys, and a bear were staring at the scary explosive man doubled over in laughter. From behind Gladius, Law rolled his eyes and flipped the bird again, this time at his former marksman teacher.

"Law … a Marine? You're shitting me!" When his laughter finally died down, Gladius stood up and adjusted his coat again. "You obviously don't know what happened in his past."

"I know enough, but the kid had Rocinante's approval so I'm sure he'll do fine."

"Ah yes, the traitor," if his face were visible then everyone would be able to see the enormous smirk adorning Gladius's face. "Tell me Law, was Corazon enough to convince you that the World Government and Marines are the good guys? Even after they cooperated in the slaughter of your entire family and hometown?"

Law froze in slow shuffle towards his fallen katana but Gladius didn't turn around. Ace couldn't read the older boy's face because of the shadows of his hat but Law shook his head and continued to reach for his katana. Gladius couldn't see him but Law's silence spoke volumes.

"As I thought, now if you'd excuse us … "

"Room."

"Shit!" The glowing blue sphere passed over Gladius's body. He turned just in time to see Law swing his reacquired katana. Gladius's body separated into three distinct pieces. "You little bastard. I'm going to blow your guts out through your nose, Law!"

"That's physically impossible." Law drawled. His left hand was held up with the thumb, index, and middle finger pointing forward to maintain control of each part of Gladius's body. "My esophagus is simply not big enough for my intestines. Even if you liquefied them."

"I'll enjoy trying." The conversation was making Ace nauseous. The forearms of Gladius's torso expanded like balloons, one arm aiming at Law while the other was directed at Garp. Law's eyes narrowed.

The explosion made Ace jump. He grabbed the back of Luffy's head and shoved the younger boy face first into the dirt while joining the boy on the ground. The radial blast from the explosion, full of small rocks and pebbles, passed over their heads, knocking Sabo's hat clean off his blond hair. Through the disturbed dust and grass, Ace could see one tall figure and a shorter one still standing. The pirate's body parts had switched positions but they were still floating.

"Fast reaction, as expected," Gladius hummed. His arms had deflated with the blast but were quickly growing again. "Diamante trained you well. You switched yourself and the marine with boulders to escape."

"Bwahahaha! He got you good! What a clever little bugger," Garp chuckled and pulled a set of seastone handcuffs from somewhere within his violently colourful floral shirt. Garp darted forward and raised the fist not holding the seastone handcuffs. With a swing of his massive fist, the marine clocked Gladius in his detached head, knocking the man out. Gladius's arms dropped as the man fell unconscious and his massive forearms deflated quickly like a popped balloon. Law let all three parts of the separated body drop to the ground for Garp to cuff.

"If only my grandsons were as smart."

"Shut up old man!" Ace yelled, he kicked a small rock towards his adopted grandfather but it fell short of the man. Luffy was laughing loudly at Ace's violent temper. "What the hell are you laughing about? He just called us idiots!"

"He does kind of have a point," Sabo muttered under his breath as Ace and Luffy started tussling in the dirt. There they all were with a psychotic pirate what had just threatened everyone's life to get at Law and his two brothers were far more concerned with winning an argument about who was the bigger idiot.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Sabo's attention. The polar bear straightened up from its crouched position and loped over to join Law at the other end of the clearing. It nudged the teen's hip with his head and sat down patiently beside him.

"Well, that was interesting," Garp scratched his head, reminding everyone strongly of a confused monkey. "Guess I should clean this guy up."

"Watch out, he's a tricky one." Law muttered. He sheathed his sword and walked away from the battle scene, past the unconscious grizzly bear still in separate pieces, and stopped at the edge of the woods. Bepo sniffed the unconscious bear briefly before joining the teenager. "I'll be going now."

"I'm gonna get this pirate down to the ship," Garp looked quite ridiculous with legs swung over his shoulder, a torso dangling from one hand and a head clasped in the other. "Go back to the cabin. I'll sort this out."

Law's smile was so utterly dishonest that Sabo and Ace cringed. "Of course. I will see you there."

"Good," Garp grunted. He turned and waved goodbye to his grandsons. Gladius's head swung back and forth like a pendulum. "See ya boys!"

The boys were too disturbed by the sight of a man waving a detached head to properly respond.

"Law! That was crazy!" Luffy stumbled and tripped over a pile of debris but he eventually latched himself to Law's side. His rubbery limbs wrapped around Law's torso and gripped him tightly. Most likely he didn't even see it, but Luffy ignored the irritated twitch to Law's eyebrow. "Join my pirate crew. You'll be my first mate."

"I think we've been replaced," Sabo whispered to the growling Ace.

"No," Law snapped. It seemed his never ending patience had finally snapped. Ace suspected it was more the stress of that pirate's appearance than Luffy's irritating insistence.

"But you're so strong! The way you took that man apart was so cool! Please?"

Law was unmoved. The emotionless mask he constantly wore was sliding down his face. Both Sabo and Ace could see his patient composure fracturing. Anger and rage was slipping through the cracks. "No one orders me around, not anymore. You're just a pain in my ass."

Luffy laughed loudly. It seemed he hadn't noticed the older boy's growing irritation. "That's what everyone says."

"Are you going back to the cabin?" Sabo pressed at the large gash on his leg caused by the Grizzly bear and made worse from the battle. Luckily, the blood had started to clot but there was still a bloody mess all over his pants and hands.

The older boy snorted and bowed his head. The shadows from his hat were cast over his face, hiding his steel grey eyes from view. "Of course not. Monkey-ya created this situation. If he hadn't stuck his oversized nose in my business, this entire situation could've been avoided."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ace snapped. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he fought to keep from lunging and strangling the ungrateful bastard. "He was trying to help you!"

"And that is the start of many problems," Law murmured. He turned to stare directly at Ace, his frosty eyes glaring through the shadow of his hat. "No doubt Lieutenant Monkey-ya couldn't keep his big mouth shut and blabbed about me around Marine Headquarters."

Luffy glanced back and forth between his brothers and his new friend. He knew they were talking about something important but Traffy wasn't giving straight answers and Luffy was feeling a little lost. Law roughly detached the rubber limbs from his body and let the youngest boy fall to the ground.

"What does that have to do with anything? So what if he told the Marines?" Sabo shrugged and laid a bloody hand on Ace's shoulder. It was partly to calm the other boy and partly to hold him down so that he wouldn't launch himself at the older boy. Ace was fast and strong, but as Law had proven that day, the older boy had the advantage of experience and a Devil Fruit. Sabo really didn't want to put his brother back together.

A slow, cruel smirk spread across Trafalgar Law's face which sent the fine hairs on the back of Ace's neck straight up. He wasn't going to like whatever came out of the boy's mouth. "The Marines spend so much time and effort infiltrating powerful pirate crews with sleeper agents. I wonder if they've ever thought the same could happen to them."

Sabo's eyes narrowed in contemplation. "You think the Marines have a pirate spy?"

"I don't think, I know." The smirk widened, which just pissed Ace off even more.

"Well, why didn't you tell him, you idiot? Gramps could've done something about it!" Ace growled. Luffy nodded along beside his brother, still unsure as to what he was agreeing with.

"Some things are simply beyond your understanding until you've lived with a man like Donquixote Doflamingo. Sabo-ya, make sure you disinfect that leg before you get an infection," Sabo jumped in shock that the older boy actually said his name. Law turned and gestured to his polar bear. "Let's go, Bepo."

Bepo looked at him and back at the grizzly bear still lying in three pieces on the destroyed forest floor. His black eyes were wide and pleading.

"Fine, but only because you asked." Law waved his hand at the bear rearranged itself back into one piece. "Now we go."

The blue humming sphere faded and the boy with his polar bear friend disappeared into the forest. Luffy waved them goodbye.

"See ya Law!"

Not thirty seconds after Trafalgar Law and Bepo the polar bear disappeared into the forest the massive grizzly grunted loudly. All three boys jumped at the sound and eyed the fallen bear that had been put back together.

"Let's get out of here before he wakes up," Sabo said, his fingers gripped the pole in his hands uncomfortably tight.

They sprinted from the clearing dashed through the forest. Branches and bugs whipped at their faces. Sabo used his pole as extra support when the gash on his leg stung painfully with movement. Ace kept to the back, making sure his injured brother managed to get out of the way. Although all three boys were exhausted and injured, they only slowed down when their treehouse came into view.

"Law was so cool!" Luffy cheered while climbing up to the house. "He just waved his sword and BAM! The man was done. He didn't even kill the pirate!"

"You're joking, right?" Ace shoved the younger boy over so he could get through the door. "That was the creepiest thing I've ever seen. I thought he was bad before but that power is just downright freaky."

"It is a very strange power," Sabo acquiesced from below them. He was struggling to climb with an injured leg. The gash had pulled open again and begun to bleed. He would have to keep off it for a few days to let it rest and heal. "And that pirate had a very dangerous power too. He also just didn't sound … stable? Normal? The man was creepy."

"Well, I doubt we'll see him again," Ace helped Sabo up the last bit of the climb to the treehouse.

Sabo sat down and started pulling down his pants to deal with the wound. He gritted in pain his teeth when the newly formed scab pulled off his skin with the fabric. He flopped down heavily on his futon, holding the bloody leg up so that it wouldn't mess up his bed. "We'll have to talk to Law the next time we see him. If dangerous men like that are after him, I doubt this will be the last one we see."

Ace poured the clean drinking water into a bowl. "Luffy, get me the cleanest cloth we've got," Ace held out his hand expectantly. Luffy shuffled through the spare cloths and tossed one at his brother. The older boy began to clean Sabo's gash with the wet cloth. "It's not that deep so luckily, no stitches. I'll just wrap it up."

"What are you, a doctor?" Sabo gritted out. Ace wrapped up the wound and put a small pillow under the leg.

"No, but let's hope you don't need one."

"Anyways," Sabo leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you see that sword work?"

"No," Ace rolled his eyes. "I was a little too busy watching the floating body parts."

Sabo ignored his adopted brother's attitude. "All I'm saying is that Trafalgar had training. Those were not amateur moves."

"Huh? What?" Luffy tilted his head to the side and searched his nose for hidden treasure. Sometimes people said things in complicated ways. He wished they would just say what they meant.

Sabo sighed and held up a hand, counting down all the things he noticed. "The way he remained calm in the situation. His control over his Devil Fruit abilities is far superior to our own Luffy. And everything with the sword. I've seen older nobles training under sword masters and his technique was better than anything I've seen from the nobles."

"Like you're a sword master," Ace snorted in amusement. "So what do you think?"

"I think he's been trained by several masters, including the pirate we just saw." Sabo exchanged a look with Ace. "I also think he has more experience than us."

"Why do you think he has more experience?" Ace mused. "I just thought he wasn't right in the head."

"Well, he could be insane," Sabo shrugged. It was a distinct possibility, the boy was rather unnerving with all the talk about intestines and body parts. "But think about how calm he remained and turned the situation around. He's confident; he knows his abilities well. That tells me that he's anything but an amateur."

"Well that settles it," Ace turned to stare at both the injured Sabo and the nose-picking Luffy. "From here on out, no one is to go near Falafel- what's his name? Right, Trafalgar Law. Stay away from him." Ace directed the last order to Luffy who he knew was too friendly for his own good.

Luffy flicked off the booger he found and glared back at Ace. "But he's gonna be my friend!"

"No he's not, you idiot! The guy will cut you into pieces if you piss him off. And you can piss people off really fast. So stay away from him!"

"You're not my boss! Don't tell me what to do!"

"I'm your big brother so that gives me the unspoken right to boss you around."

"Luffy," Sabo's calm voice cut through the argument. "Ace is right this time. I don't trust Law around you or us. We can't predict him so for now you should just give him some space."

Luffy glared at both his brothers and stomped out of the treehouse. He stretched his arm up to the watchtower and pulled himself up using his rubber abilities. The sun was starting to set and the city of Goa Kingdom was illuminated in a warm orange glow. That was where Law and Bepo lived.

"They're wrong," Luffy muttered to himself. "He's not a bad guy."

Just like he knew Shanks and his crew were not bad people although they were pirates, Luffy knew Law wasn't as mean as he seemed. He had helped them against the grizzly even though he didn't have to. He slept in the same room as them at the bandit's log house and nothing happened. And he had a bear cub for a friend.

No one who had a bear friend could be bad.

Three days later, the issue of becoming friends with Law was wiped from Luffy's mind and overtaken by something far more serious.

* * *

><p><em>So … I'm going to end there before the chapter gets too long. Also, just so everyone knows: I love Ace (and Garp but sometimes he pisses me off). I hope you don't think I'm bashing him. There are certain characteristics from when he was young that stand out and I think that Law, being the creeper he is, makes Ace extremely uncomfortable.<em>

_I celebrated finishing this chapter by making a chocolate cake in my microwave. I highly recommend microwave cakes for everyone who lacks an oven, time, or both._

_For only four chapters, this story had __**49 reviews**__, __**121 favs**__, __**183 alerts**__, and __**4,870 views**__! Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to read, follow, favourite, and review! It means a lot to me and it keeps me interested in writing. _

_I would really appreciate if you would please write your thoughts and comments in that little box below and hit 'review'. Sometimes your comments can give me new ideas and help me flush out parts of the story so I really want to hear what you think!_


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